Meter

All you need is a standard issue Kilowatt Hour meter like the utilities use on your home service. They are common on eBay and sell for around $15 - $40 depending on brand and current capacity. You will also need a socket box for it as well and that should be around $20 - $40 as well.

If you have basic electrical skills you could probibly install it yourself too. They are just a four wire hookup ,two in and two out.

Just a slight caveat to tcmtech's statement. I bought one of the inexpensive meters and it is great! It measure lots of parameters.

Kill-o-Watt is the name. (Just for reference, not an endorsement.)

But, it's only rated for 15 amps. Maybe the more expensive ones have a higher capacity. Just a thought.

Good Luck.

I used to have a kiloWatt-hour meter like tcm referred to and there were no issues using it.

You DO know to turn off power while installing it, don't you?

The one issue might be the kind of connections - there are special procedures and connectors for aluminum wire. We wouldn't want a fire!

I decided to add a few more details. I obtained the kwh meter I had from an old house that was being torn down. If I recall correctly, it only had a capacity of something like 30 Amps, which was perfect for my purpose. At the time, I was teaching science and physics. I mounted the unit on an L-shaped plywood stand, and added a standard (3-wire) 120V plug to the input, and a standard 120V socket to the output. Ground went directly to the aluminum case of the meter. Line and neutral went to the input, and the output went to line and neutral of the socket.

I regularly loaned the assembly to students, and they got extra credit for measuring the energy consumption of home appliances (usually refrigerators or TVs). I never had any problems with it. When I first set it up, I had a student whose father was with the county department of weights and measures, and he calibrated it for me for free. When I retired from teaching 15 years ago, I gave the unit to another teacher.

Good luck with your project! Dick

All good info from the repliers. However, depending where You live, It would be just as easy and cost effective to install a meter at your shop and have a drop put in. Power company will not charge for putting drop in and You will have the advantage of a seperate power supply for Your shop. I did this and have no regrets.

oilcan13

If I add another service or drop, they will put me on a commercial rate. No thanks to that.

The problem with having the electric company add the meter and drop is you now have 2 bills (2 minimum payments + usage). Where I live the power company considers any additional meter to be commercial and higher rates apply. It may be different where the original poster lives, but I'd check with the power company before making any decision.

Depending on what type of meter you find the surplus single phase two circuit utility type meters are usually a standard 4 line connection assuming you are American or have the two line 120/240 volt American service system of course. The meters themselves come in everything from 20 amp to 400 amp capacity ranges so just look for one rated equal to or greater than what your supply is capable of. 200 amp rated are usually the most common ones to find.

The second supply system from the utility company usually has a second meter and service fee attached to it. Depending on where you live that convenience could end up setting you back $20 - $50 a month just for being connected before you ever used a single KWH. That alone rather justifies sub metering your shop if the lines are already in place.